Breathing Easier & Looking Better: Exhaust System

When last we left ol’ Project 98, the new 400 cid Dart motor was comfortably between the framerails and a monstrously rebuilt Monster 700-R4 was bolted up. The car would finally move under its own power, but it still had open headers. And while open headers are insanely cool, they make cruising the Jersey Shore for big-haired honeys a little more difficult. Naturally, we had to find a good exhaust system that would let our small-block breathe while providing a wonderfully nasty, powerful sound that would entice a certain blue-eyed brunette.

Enter our friends at Summit Racing. They recommended a system from Pypes, which turned out to be one of the few true dual exhaust systems for these cars. We chose its crossmember back system, which features 16-gauge, mandrel-bent, stainless steel pipe, 409 stainless mufflers, an X-shaped crossover pipe, stainless clamps, stainless hangers and polished stainless tips. It came from Summit complete in a single box and turned out to be truly simple to put in—however we did run into a small problem, which you will see in the following pictures.

We also ran into a much larger problem when the stock hood wouldn’t clear the new air cleaner. Sure, we could have just pulled the insulation out and probably have been fine, but being as this is Exit 98 we had other … bigger plans. Thanks to the folks at Harwood, our ’88 Monte SS looks tougher, breathes better and is one step closer to paint.

Enough chatter; let’s get to it. j

Sources
GFORCE Performance
330/753-5300
www.crossmembers.com

Harwood
800/822-3392
www.eharwood.com

Hotchkis
800/822-3392
www.eharwood.com

Firestone
www.firestonetire.com

Summit Racing
800/230-3030
www.summitracing.com

Year One
800/932-7663
www.yearone.com

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Breathing Easier & Looking Better: Exhaust System

With the extension cut it to length, the stainless steel pipe slides right into place.

1|As you can see from this picture, the stock crossmember was modified on the driver’s side to accept the dual exhaust. There was just one problem.

2|Because of the configuration of the headers, the new 3-inch exhaust actually hit the crossmember and wouldn’t fit flush against the header flange.

3|At this point we had two choices. We could either “modify” the exhaust pipe by heating it up with a torch and beating on it mercilessly until it dimpled enough to pass the stock cross member. But that’s just plain stupid when there is a company like GForce Performance. So we yanked out the stock crossmember and gave GForce a call.

4|GForce makes crossmembers for just about any transmission swap into almost any platform you can conjure up, TH350 into a ’69 F-body, Munice in a C3 Vette, a 4L60E into whatever you want and of course the 700-R4 in a G-body. They specialize in GM, as well as that other car company (and I don’t mean Mopar). Just a few days shipping and PN RCG-700 was at our doorstep ready for installation.

5|GForce’s crossmembers are direct bolt in parts, which makes installation a snap, and they even include new mounting hardware.

6|Now when I put the exhaust extensions in you can clearly see I have plenty of room with the GForce design. The beefiness of the crossmember will also add some rigidity to the chassis.

7|With the new crossmember in, it’s time to mock up the system. The Pypes kit includes stainless steel hangers that slide right into the stock location.

8|The whole system is pre-bent for the car and features slip fit connections, which makes mocking it up a piece of cake.

9|I measure the 3-inch diameter extension that runs underneath the crossmember and found that I needed to cut about 8 inches off of it achieve that perfect fit.

10|With the extension cut it to length, the stainless steel pipe slides right into place.

11|From here on out it’s just a matter of bolting the extension to the header flange making sure the flange gasket is in place.

12|Then my father, Charles, helps attach the stainless steel brackets that are supplied with the kit.

13|We could have opted to weld some of these connections and may go back at a later date to do so, but bolting them up works just fine. Plus, if we ever want to change out the system, bolting up now means no cutting later.

14|A close up shot of the completed system easily clearing the GForce Crossmember.

15|The entire process, from start to finish, was easily completed in an afternoon. Next up is to tackle that little hood clearance problem.

16|When we said little, we weren’t kidding … oh, what shall we ever do to solve this dilemma? How about a four-inch cowl from Harwood? Why you ask? Why not, we say! Seriously, the good folks at Harwood make 3-, 4- and 6-inch fiberglass cowl hoods for this car, plus a neat pro-touring-style hood. They come in bolt on or lift off designs with a starting price of $295. Our PN B-29104 carries an M.S.R.P. of $535.00

17|As you can see here, our Harwood hood is fully finished underneath giving a slick, clean appearance. The vents are even finished with powdercoated mesh for added protection. The quality is what we’ve come to expect from Harwood—top shelf.

18|Fitting and bolting up the hood is a simple task, which was completed in just under one hour. All Harwood hoods are molded with extra material around the perimeter and need to be cut in order to fit snugly into your particular application, like this fender bolt you see here. An air-powered body saw makes this task super quick and easy, but you can also use any saw that will cut through fiberglass. You’ll need some white out to mark the areas to be cut. Why white out? White out washes away with soap and water, while a permanent marker will not.

19|To paraphrase the great Bob Vila, trace twice, cut once to make sure your cuts are minimal and exactly where you want them.

20|Once the hood is cut, four bolts (two on each hood hinge) hold the new hood in place.

21|To keep 98’s hood shut, we went with these super-clean CNC machined billet aluminum hoodpins from Hotchkis Sport Suspension, which are about as easy to install as the hood was itself. Hotchkis’ hoodpin kit (PN 1760) comes complete with two aluminum pins, stainless hardware, hoodpin plates, and a trick aluminum quick release pin. It retails for $214.95.

22|The Harwood hood gave 98 a nasty “don’t mess with me” look, but when we got the new Year One catalog in the mail we saw something that would bring our ’88 Monte straight into the 21st century.

23|Year One is now making 17x8-inch cast aluminum N90 wheels with 4-1/4-inch backspacing. They are silver powdercoated with a machined lip and look exactly like the stock originals—only bigger and better. Retailing for $799.99 for a set of four, the wheels accept original-style center caps and lug nuts. On the left, the new Year One wheel shod with Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 Wide Ovals; on the right the stock 15x7s with some worn out Daytons.

24|Exit 98 sits at the ready under a swaying willow tree. To give a peek into our next installment, stuffed up under her rear are Firehawk Wide Ovals, size 255/45R17 while the front has slightly smaller 245/45R17s. Incidentally, we do mean stuffed … an 8-inch tire is the absolute widest you can fit in the rear of these cars without cutting into or notching the framerails. These tires will give her a super aggressive stance once we complete the install of a whole new suspension system. Stay tuned!